Re: [PATCH bpf-next 05/11] bpf: avoid retpoline for lookup/update/delete calls on maps

On Mon, 28 May 2018 02:43:38 +0200
Daniel Borkmann [off-list ref] wrote:

While some of the BPF map lookup helpers provide a ->map_gen_lookup()
callback for inlining the map lookup altogether it is not available
for every map, so the remaining ones have to call bpf_map_lookup_elem()
helper which does a dispatch to map->ops->map_lookup_elem(). In
times of retpolines, this will control and trap speculative execution
rather than letting it do its work for the indirect call and will
therefore cause a slowdown. Likewise, bpf_map_update_elem() and
bpf_map_delete_elem() do not have an inlined version and need to call
into their map->ops->map_update_elem() resp. map->ops->map_delete_elem()
handlers.

Before:

  # bpftool p d x i 1

I would really appreciate if we can use the long options in these kind
of examples.  It makes the command "self-documenting" and searchable by
google.

Here it would be:

 # bpftool prog dump xlated id 1

    0: (bf) r2 = r10
    1: (07) r2 += -8
    2: (7a) *(u64 *)(r2 +0) = 0
    3: (18) r1 = map[id:1]
    5: (85) call __htab_map_lookup_elem#232656
    6: (15) if r0 == 0x0 goto pc+4
    7: (71) r1 = *(u8 *)(r0 +35)
    8: (55) if r1 != 0x0 goto pc+1
    9: (72) *(u8 *)(r0 +35) = 1
   10: (07) r0 += 56
   11: (15) if r0 == 0x0 goto pc+4
   12: (bf) r2 = r0
   13: (18) r1 = map[id:1]
   15: (85) call bpf_map_delete_elem#215008  <-- indirect call via
   16: (95) exit                                 helper

After:

  # bpftool p d x i 1

Same here

    0: (bf) r2 = r10
    1: (07) r2 += -8
    2: (7a) *(u64 *)(r2 +0) = 0
    3: (18) r1 = map[id:1]
    5: (85) call __htab_map_lookup_elem#233328
    6: (15) if r0 == 0x0 goto pc+4
    7: (71) r1 = *(u8 *)(r0 +35)
    8: (55) if r1 != 0x0 goto pc+1
    9: (72) *(u8 *)(r0 +35) = 1
   10: (07) r0 += 56
   11: (15) if r0 == 0x0 goto pc+4
   12: (bf) r2 = r0
   13: (18) r1 = map[id:1]
   15: (85) call htab_lru_map_delete_elem#238240  <-- direct call
   16: (95) exit

-- 
Best regards,
  Jesper Dangaard Brouer
  MSc.CS, Principal Kernel Engineer at Red Hat
  LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/brouer